


another place that i saw in my dream (long slow distance)

by jeolmeoniji



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Introspection, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, doyoung learns to fight against capitalism, reflections on soulmates, set in tokyo, too many gratuitous references to random everyday life fact about tokyo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23654704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeolmeoniji/pseuds/jeolmeoniji
Summary: “I can't believe you're still drinking convenience store coffee, when your soulmate mark is literally a well-known coffee shop brand,” Johnny comments, and Doyoung sighs.It's one of those days, then.“Do you really want to talk about that now?”
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Nakamoto Yuta
Comments: 27
Kudos: 259





	another place that i saw in my dream (long slow distance)

**Author's Note:**

> hello!!! i had this idea since so long and i'm glad i was finally able to write it <3
> 
> title from nct127 long slow distance
> 
> as the story takes place in tokyo, there are a lot of references to tokyo and places in it, as i lived there for a year. so i had fun to describe places i used to go!
> 
> enjoy <3

Doyoung is a simple man – or so he thinks, at least. When he leaves his apartment in the morning to go to class, he always stops at the convenience store next to the station and asks for his usual iced coffee, _M size please_ , then drops the 150 yens that are needed on the counter.

(When the taxes went up to 10%, he has wondered if that would mean that the coffee price would also go up. It should have, right, but who could make more simple than a hot coffee from the convenience store at 100 yens, tax included? It is so easy for the cashier to get the single silver coin to exchange it with the carton cup to go. Doyoung is safe, the convenience store has kept his coffees to the same prices, so Doyoung doesn't have to rummage his purse for annoying change, but he notices that a few of his usual favourite chocolate snacks were more expensive than expected, even after the rise of taxes.

Johnny can't believe how he notices little insignificant details like this. _It's not even like it's that relevant, Doyoung._ )

The same part-time student that is always there on Tuesdays takes Doyoung's coins, and doesn't wait to get the plastic cup filled with ice so Doyoung can go make his own coffee at the machine at the back of the little store. Doyoung thanks the guy with his usual friendly smile, and grabs the cup. He's so used to this that his moves have become quicker, and he is an expert at convenience store coffee machine. He strips the lid off the cup, and mechanically presses the iced coffee button for his M size drink.

The sound is so familiar it is soothing. It means the day begins on a good note, with his trustworthy watered down coffee that is bitter just as he likes. No sugar.

While the drink is pouring, he prepares the plastic lid and takes a straw from the dispensers next to the machine. Japan still needs to work on its single use plastic, and he knows that since he first put his foot in Japan. It's taken so long for the cashiers to stop asking if he wanted a plastic bag for his two salmon _onigiri_ and milk tea bottle. Doyoung has his really cool tote bag that he got from the university he attends here, and it is big enough to store the snacks he buys on the daily too.

He honestly wonders if he shouldn't stop to use so many plastic with all this convenience store coffee everyday, but one step at a time, right. He's not perfect yet, but he tries to reduce his consumption of stuff that are too bad for the planet in aspects of his life he can.

His coffee is ready, and he seals the cup, shaking it for good measure to hear the ice cubes inside bumping against each other. He likes this sound. He doesn't wait more and exits the convenience store, with the cashiers thanking him for coming and bidding him a good day.

Repetitive words that are so often said that for some it can lack sincerity. Doyoung likes them still. He rubs his wrist out of habit, with a little smile. He likes these habits, this routine that is like a step back to appreciate something simple in the hectic life that can be the bustling sea of people in the streets of Tokyo.

The automatic doors close behind him, and he takes the few steps to join the train station.

He loves Tokyo, he really does.

He has learned to love it. Not only Tokyo, the city, but Japan as a whole. What it is made of, the people, the history, the places, the traditions. The language.

When he's in front of the terminal to get onto his platform, he takes out his Suica card, the little penguin greets him, and in the movement, his long sleeve divulges a bit of his skin. Japanese writings greet him as well, black ink against his smooth light skin.

Even before he knew how to write Korean, he was accustomed to the Japanese writing. He couldn't read what was written on his wrist, per se, because he didn't have the knowledge back then, but little Doyoung used to look at his wrist with furrowed eyebrows, trying to get the meaning behind the little curves of the sentence on his skin. When he's learnt how to write and read Korean, he could see that it was different from what was written on him, and that made him confused. It was frustrating, in a way, because his other schoolmates could finally understand on their own the words that linked them to their soulmates, and yet, Doyoung's soulmate still seemed so far away.

His parents have explained to him that the words on his wrist were in Japanese, and that it meant that what his soulmate would tell him first wouldn't even be in Korean, his own native language. Little Doyoung was scared that he wouldn't even be able to understand when his soulmate would finally talk to him. Wouldn't it be an horrible story, to be in front of your soulmate and not even realizing it because of language barrier?

But growing up, Doyoung realized that it isn't uncommon to have another language engraved on your wrist. There was Donghyuck, from his choir club when he was in middle school, that had a sentence in English scribbled on his wrist, something related to watermelon. Doyoung sometimes wonders, even after so many years of not having seen him, if he's met his soulmate.

The soulmates link doesn't care about borders, languages and oceans. He brings together two souls made for each other. The universe has its way and the universe wants the humans to mingle through miles and miles.

Doyoung realizes he's still lucky that his own soulmate tattoo is in Japanese, and that he lives in the 21th century. Decades before, it was way more difficult to travel around. Even if the soulmate mark is a proof that your soulmate exists somewhere on this Earth, it doesn't mean you'll find them for sure. At the end of the day, it's your own actions that lead you to your soulmate, and it's up to you if you want or not to take the extra step to meet them.

In a time like theirs, not even everyone still cares about the soulmate bond. There's so many people to meet already, and some people don't even want to be linked to someone for the rest of their life, to the point that they don't act on the little sentence engraved on their wrists. Some become friends with their soulmates, and share a strong bond that never leaves, but that never evolves in a romantic relationship either. Others simply ignore the signs and the universe.

Doyoung maybe is a romantic, because if he wasn't so influenced by his soulmate mark, he wouldn't even be in Japan right now.

His relationship – if he can call it that – with his soulmate tattoo is still a bit complicated, though. Doyoung knows it's partially because of himself.

The train ride to arrive to his campus takes the usual twenty-three minutes, courtesy of how on time the traffic is in Japan. He exits the station squeezed between all the other students, and joins the building where his first class of the day is. He doesn't take long to see Johnny at their usual seats, and he drops next to him, putting his almost finished iced coffee on the table.

Johnny eyes the drink as if it has personally offended him – it kinda has, as he likes to say – and ostentatiously sips at his own coffee, with the cup arboring a white and green mermaid. (Doyoung doesn't know if it's really a mermaid, or something else. He's surprisingly never really paid attention, and to his eyes it does look like a mermaid. Right?)

“I can't believe you're still drinking convenience store coffee, when your soulmate mark is literally a well-known coffee shop brand,” Johnny comments, and Doyoung sighs.

It's one of those days, then.

“Do you really want to talk about that now?”

Johnny rubs at his own inked skin. _Nice to meet you._

Doyoung's soulmate tattoo is also a generic sentence, but with more information on what kind of place Doyoung will meet his soulmate. And it lacks of anything possibly romantic, but he's learnt to live with it.

_Welcome to Starbucks_. (In Japanese, of course.)

Doyoung is used to people making a little joke on his tattoo, as if he's a travelling advertisement. It's not sexy, nor romantic, or anything. Doyoung doesn't really like to be associated with a multinational company that makes billions of dollars of benefits on the back of clueless people. It's not like the bartenders are all evil capitalists – Doyoung knows they are mostly students that needs to pay their rent, and he sympathizes – but he can't help but think of the higher-ups, the unnecessarily expensive goods, the suave irony of the false heartwarming mood of every Starbucks coffee shop he's seen. It leaves a bitter taste at the back of his throat, and not the good kind like his iced coffee does.

When he was little, Doyoung has been so curious about this coffee shop brand, and once he was old enough to go there, he drank with his eyes the interior of the Starbucks shop, the counter where the baristas prepared the weirdly named drinks, the high ceilings and black armchairs. He knew he wouldn't meet his soulmate yet, because why would someone welcome him in Japanese in the middle of Seoul, but he's wanted to feel a bit closer to his soulmate, by being in the same kind of place where he knew they would meet one day. Taking Japanese classes was already a big step.

Ironically enough, now that Doyoung is in Japan, and that literally every corner of Tokyo has a Starbucks coffee shop, Doyoung hasn't put a single toe in one of them.

“I can't believe you boycott Starbucks, out of all multinational companies out there. It's like you're being stubborn, and complicate your life, and make yourself suffer, all at once,” Johnny sighs.

“I don't make myself _suffer_ ,” Doyoung air-quotes the last word.

“With how romantic you are, yes you kinda do. At the same time, it's funny you refute you are when you literally attend a Japanese university because you learn Japanese thanks to your soulmate mark. And yet, so close from having it all, you sabotage yourself by banning yourself to enter a Starbucks.”

Doyoung feels like they had this conversation a billion times already, but Johnny doesn't seem to get tired of it. Maybe because he's also eager to meet his soulmate, but the little words on his wrist don't really help him that much, with how generic it is. Doyoung understands it can be frustrating to see him not acting to the fullest on the hints he has.

It's a question of principle.

Johnny's words are in English, which is a good thing since he's from the US, but in all his education there, each time he's talked to someone new, no one has ever reciprocated his soulmate bond, despite hearing the words he has on his wrist a lot of time. Johnny has no idea what kind of person his soulmate will happen to be.

So then he has decided to travel outside of the US for university. He takes every exchange program possible to get his required credits and at the same time visit a lot of different countries in different universities, with the hope that those English words would be pronounced by an international student just like him. The logic he bets on is that they all talk in English to communicate at first, when they arrive in a foreign country where they barely speak three words.

Doyoung, who chose a Japanese university because he studies the language, has been surprised to meet Johnny here, in Japan, while the only knowledge the guy had about Japanese was the word _strength_ from Naruto – and yet, he's got it wrong when he has tried to explain it to Doyoung. They quickly realized they both are with a Korean background, so Johnny talks to him with an easy Korean, that Doyoung is glad because even if he loves Japan, sometimes he misses what links him to Korea, and it also means the Korean language.

“It's not like I absolutely should hunt down my soulmate and enter every single Starbucks I see, it's not sustainable.”

“And I'm telling you, you don't have to give them money or anything, next time I go there you can just go along and see what happens.”

Doyoung knows Johnny is right, but Doyoung still says no.

Their conversation stops because the lecturer enters, and then it's like any day on campus.

東京

The idea is for Doyoung to join Johnny to go drink some beers in Yoyogi Park with some other students, where some open party is planned for the same evening. Doyoung has been to a few of this kind of gatherings, pretty common when the weather becomes warm enough in Tokyo, even when the sun sets early for the young generation. Doyoung finds it less oppressive than going to a club in Shibuya, even if he likes to linger in front of a convenience store until the last train has passed, a beer in his hand, talking with classmates he meets randomly passing in the psychedelic streets, with foreigners chatting the night away, roars of laughters, clients going in and out of the illuminated restaurants. Doyoung has learnt to like this mood, too.

And that day he's more in the mood for chilling in the park, so he accepts Johnny's invitation. Once he sends his text, his phone rings a minute later, displaying Johnny's name on it. Doyoung picks up while absent-mindedly looking through his fridge.

“Should we meet at Harajuku station then?” Johnny asks him without preamble.

Doyoung knows it is the most logical place to meet, since the park is close to Harajuku, but he kind of wanted to go check a music store in Shibuya before making his way to the park.

“I was going to stop at Shibuya first to check the Tower Records, and then walk to Yoyogi,” he explains.

He closes his fridge without anything in his hand, and instead finds the last noodle cup above his microwave appealing enough for his dinner. The rice cooker displays that it's almost eight in the evening, so he's got time to eat before going out.

“I can join you if you want. I'm meeting you at the Inokashira exit in the station? It's always too crowded if we meet up at Hachiko.”

Doyoung agrees with a lazy _yes_. Knowing that it's Friday night, too, the Hachiko Square in front of Shibuya station is always a living hell, with everyone meeting their friends there before choosing their activity for the night – karaoke, clubs or all you can drink bars? Choices are endless.

“Ok, let's meet at around nine thirty? The Tower Records doesn't close before eleven anyway, and you said your friends will be at Yoyogi at like, ten thirty ish. I'm taking the last train, though.”

“That's a deal, Mister Kim Doyoung.”

Doyoung chuckles, and then they hang up. While his water is boiling for his instant noodles, he changes and styles his hair again. His quick dinner inhaled, he leaves the dishes for tomorrow-him with no qualm.

The ride to Shibuya is so familiar he doesn't even pay attention. The automatic voice lists the stop names that Doyoung knows by heart, and when the train arrives at its terminus, he exists the train to arrive in the clamminess of the station, from the thousands and thousands of passengers that transited here throughout the whole day. His Suica card in hand, he pays his fare and spots Johnny quickly, with his back against one of the advertisement board. His tall figure is easily recognizable and it's always a plus when they are surrounded by so many people.

“Which band are you giving your money to today?” Johnny teases Doyoung right off the beat.

Doyoung groans but doesn't take offense and smiles a little bit.

“I haven't checked the store since at least two weeks, I want to see if there is anything new that would catch my eyes.”

Johnny simply nods, and they navigate outside the station by using the escalators. Tokyo is already dark but still full of life, and the well-known Shibuya crossing is buzzing. The advertisement screens all over the high buildings surrounding the area perform for the umpteenth time their colorful videos, and japanese words and songs flow through the frenetic air. It's a cacophony of sounds that is overwhelming at first, but became home to Doyoung pretty quickly. Shibuya isn't the prettiest borough of Tokyo, but it's one of the little windows from where the world sees the intriguing capital. It's funny to realize that what is his everyday life can be a far away and dreamed place for someone else at the other end of the world.

For years, this place has been Doyoung's dream, too.

It's one of those nights Doyoung takes the extra care to be more attuned to what's around him, takes the extra second to truly sees each details of the streets. The way they wait at the crossing for it to turn green, the way the mass of people submerges the asphalt when it finally does. Some tourists have their phone high in the air to record a glimpse of the impressive yet usual crowd.

How can someone crave to live in such a place, where there's so many people it's nothing close to feeling intimate, more like he's drowning in the ocean? At first, Doyoung asked himself this. And then he realized it doesn't matter that Tokyo holds so many people. It's part of its charm. Tokyo welcomed him with the same way it welcomes everyone: with the jingle of each Yamanote station, with the conditioned air in the convenience stores, with the river who plays hide and seek and suddenly reveals herself a few streets away from the busy roads. Doyoung just had to notice it all, and put a part of his heart in each detail, to get accustomed to the city and carve himself his own seat, like he choses a seat on the train when he goes to campus.

He yearned so much to be in this place, and sometimes he wonders how he can like it more and more everyday, now that he's there. It's just a city, it's just another country, another language. And yet, even if Korea definitely feels like home, Japan does, too.

“Did you check this _izakaya_ yet?” Johnny asks, pointing at a brand, when they stroll the street and Doyoung can already see the big and obnoxious red and yellow Tower Records sign.

“Nope, is it a good one?”

“I heard about it... wait, no, look at that fucking price,” Johnny grimaces, disgust on his face when he sees their offers. “ _Toriki_ is still better.”

It's funny how Johnny can be clueless when it comes to simple Japanese to get you through your day, but still became a master to get good deals when they go out to drink. They got accustomed to _Torikizoku_ real quick, and Doyoung remembers they celebrated both their birthdays back in February in one of the many that they can find in Tokyo.

“We're gonna stop at a convenience store later to grab some beers for tonight, anyway.”

The entrance of Tower Records greets them with its usual visual loudness. Doyoung loves to see the big posters of artists and bands, the never stopping music videos. He pushes one of the glass doors and quickly looks at the many display stands with handwritten big titles and texts to introduce the new big releases of the week.

“Oh my god, Red Velvet had a Japanese comeback?” Johnny exclaims, going to the stand where he grabs a CD with a picture of the girls. “Irene slaps like always!”

Doyoung leaves him putting the headset to listen to snippets of the CD, while he looks at the other racks. Apparently, SixTones released a new album as well, and it's no surprise for Radwimps either. Posters the height of the wall arbore the faces of who are currently promoting. Doyoung remembers with nostalgia how one day he was at the right place at the right time to see NCT Dream coming through the same first floor he's currently on, unannounced, lively and lovely as the young group always seems to be, to sign the giant posters with their pictures on them. (Jeno had high fived him when he walked past him, and Doyoung has it on video. Even if they are younger than him, he loves the members and their music. It's healing to watch them.)

“Johnny, let's go to the other floors,” he taps on Johnny's shoulder to get his attention.

As much as Doyoung likes Korean music because he understands it and he couldn't help but listen to it since it's everywhere in Korea, he loves Japanese music just as much. There's always this twelve-year-old Doyoung in him, who discovers for the first time Arashi's songs, and binge-watch every drama Matsumoto Jun starred in. There are the anime openings and the random songs he finds on Youtube, the ones he finds on TV and the ones others recommend him. It's a whole lot of Japanese going through his ears, and even if he didn't understand one-tenth of what they say, he catched words as he went.

He feels closer to the writing on his skin.

The yearning to meet his soulmate blends with the yearning to see Japan with his own eyes, and at some point he didn't know which one was stronger, which one lead the other.

Doyoung ends up not buying anything, but he likes to look through the CDs on display and to rediscover a band he likes. He hears two other clients talking about the possible new release of a Japanese singer he particularly likes, so he tells himself to go check some infos later.

On their way to Yoyogi Park, they stop at a convenience store, and Johnny jokes around when he sees that the other store just next to it happens to be a Starbucks.

“In the mood for a late coffee?”

Doyoung just sticks his tongue out, and makes his way to the beer section, avoiding the sirupy Strong Zeros that would make his head pound too much the next day, opting for a few cans of Kirin.

That night in the park, another person says _nice to meet you_ to Johnny, but the tattoos don't match and Johnny doesn't feel any sparkle. Doyoung tries to gauge if Johnny looks tired of this, these false hopes each time, being on the tip of his toes everytime. But Johnny just laughs and flirts in the darkness of the park with a beer in his hand, convenience store plastic bag at his feet.

When Doyoung is in extremis in his last train, his brain a bit fuzzy with all the drinks he's had, he can't help but wonders when he'll have the guts to take the step he needs to look for his own soulmate.

東京

Jaehyun whines, gripping at Doyoung's arm like a little child.

“I am just so thirsty, can't we sit and drink here?”

Doyoung scowls, but at the same time he feels a little bit bad.

“I told you, Jaehyun, I don't go to Starbucks.”

“But I want to drink something!”

“And I'm thirsty too, and it would be better if we both enjoy the café we chose to rest, no?”

“Do you see any other café around here?” Jaehyun pouts (god, Jaehyun is only a year younger than him, how come he acts like that).

Doyoung looks around him, but he doesn't need to to know that there's only the Starbucks, and another too-expensive-for-students restaurant on the other side of the square.

Doyoung likes to go to Ueno for all the museums it offers. During cherry blossom season, it's also really pretty, although hella crowded. Jaehyun got him to go to Daikanyama this year to admire the _sakura_ , which he has liked a lot.

Ueno is really vaste, but doesn't offer much cafés inside of the park. There are the ones inside the museums, but it's not quite what they want after the exhibition they went to as an extra for their Japanese literature class they share. It's a sunny afternoon, and Jaehyun can't stop whining that he needs his coffee intake, _please_.

“If we go in the direction of the National museum and continue in the little streets, I can assure you there's a really cute and good coffee shop we can stop at,” Doyoung tells him so maybe he'll shut up.

A perk of ignoring every Starbucks he comes across is to have the ability to find less common but even more delicious coffee shops.

It seems to calm Jaehyun, who just agrees and follows Doyoung.

The borough between Ueno and Nippori is a really underestimated one, according to Doyoung. It is in the middle of Tokyo, but there is a timeless feeling to it. It feels homier, like a little town on its own inside of the sprawling Tokyo, and even if tourists find their way there, it's not the majority of them.

Twenty minutes later, they are inside a little old coffee shop, a small wood building at the corner of a street. They have put their shoes off before going upstairs to sit cross-legged at a table for two on _tatami_. The menu has little color pencil drawings that Doyoung was sure Jaehyun would like, and it's confirmed when Jaehyun snaps a picture of it.

Jaehyun still ends up getting an iced coffee, but doesn't resist to try a piece of matcha roll cake. Doyoung orders a yuzu lemonade that feels so refreshing.

Jaehyun wriggles his socked feet under the low table when he asks Doyoung, “I still don't quite get it when you're so resolute not to put a foot in a Starbucks.”

Doyoung is wearing a tee-shirt, and there's nothing to hide the little Japanese sentence carved on his wrist. Jaehyun looks at it rapidly, deciphering the symbols with difficulty – his Japanese is still a bit wobbly, but he tries his best.

Jaehyun doesn't ask if it has anything to do with Doyoung's soulmate, but the underlying question is obvious. Doyoung sighs.

“It's my own personal choice. I just read many studies about Starbucks' management, and their impact on some social situations, and economy of less rich countries, and I decided on my own that I didn't want to be part of what their company is doing.”

Jaehyun frowns – not the disapproving one, more like he's trying to understand, but stuff doesn't add up as he'd like.

“I believe they are doing good things, though? Didn't they ban plastic straws, or something like that, in the US? And you can bring your own tumbler instead of the plastic ones they have?”

Doyoung hums in agreement.

“They do that, yes, and I am glad they do, I recognize that. But it doesn't erase the other stuff, you know?”

Then he exposes a few facts to Jaehyun, who listens carefully. Honestly, Doyoung isn't here to make everyone rally to his cause, far from that. He just wants people to not erase his effort and to try to understand him a bit before calling him crazy.

“I try to avoid other big names, or this kind of multinationals.”

“But, Doyoung, you still like, eat meat, or you still go buy Nike shoes or stuff, so why wouldn't you boycott these, too? Every company does things that are questionable, but we live in this, and you yourself still buy to other big ones despite boycotting a few.”

Doyoung begins to be a bit frustrated, because he knows what Jaehyun pointed is a good remark, but he thinks he shouldn't stop at that.

“That's right. But it's not because every worldwide company is bad, quote unquote, for the planet, that we should just go with the flow of what capitalism has become and stop to care of the impact it has. I know I'm still contributing to that, but at least I think I'm a bit more aware in what way I impact the planet? I know some people can live a life without depending on any worldwide company, but as a student, I know I can't, and I also don't have enough energy. I still need to begin somewhere, you know? I can pick my battles, and I thought I could begin with this. Maybe in a few years, I'd have gradually reached another way of life that is more attuned to my values, but it takes time.”

Jaehyun listens to him carefully, and he seems to get Doyoung's point with the way his eyes light up a bit more. However, there's this unspoken question, that Doyoung hears too well, because he asks himself the same one, trying to put it for later, like when he's in the middle of a test and he skips a question he finds too hard to go back to it later, as if he would suddenly have the right answer.

_And you value this more than your soulmate?_

Like every other time, he ignores it. It's not only about his soulmate, not entirely.

“You don't have to go all out if you don't think you can, but trying a little each day with a few rules you choose for yourself, I think it's already a good start, no?” Doyoung finishes.

“I understand more now. I'm sorry if it felt like I was diminishing your efforts,” Jaehyun replies, softly, a bit ashamed.

“It's fine, you were just curious, I understand.”

When they leave the coffee shop, Doyoung's tattoo feels more heavy on his skin.

東京

Doyoung hugs Taeyong tightly when he finally sees him at the airport, in his beautiful glory of messy hair covered by a bucket hat and tired eyes behind delicate glasses frame.

“I missed you so much!” Doyoung cries.

“I missed you too,” Taeyong replies softly – everything is always so soft, with him.

Doyoung detaches himself and looks at his best friend like he can't quite get over the idea that he's finally in front of him, after so many months.

“Who asked you to go so far away from me, hm? Getting on a plane is less convenient than crossing my garden to go see you.”

Doyoung laughs whole heartedly; he feels like bubbles are inside of him, and he knows it's because he's seeing Taeyong again, and the fact alone that they are physically next to each other soothes every little bother that Doyoung could possibly have.

“You know how much I need to like someone to actually travel all the way from Tokyo to Narita airport?” Doyoung jokes back.

Taeyong is that person in his life that could really be similar to a soulmate, if the concept wasn't already a well-oiled machine run by the universe. Their years of friendship have made Taeyong the person Doyoung can't imagine not having in his life, and at the same time, they don't need to even be in the same country to prove the deep connection they have. It's because Doyoung knows Taeyoung will always listen to him and cheer for him that Doyoung hasn't doubted on his choice to do a part of his cursus in a university in Japan.

“Can't wait to enjoy these little vacations with you,” Taeyong says.

“Vacations for you, I still have to attend my classes!”

“You can skip one or two for me?”

Even if Doyoung is studious, he's also keen to indeed skip to spend more time with his best friend. Taeyong got a free week that they have since a long time planned for him to come visit in Tokyo, even if Doyoung isn't technically free.

The way back to Doyoung's student room asks for several train changes, that they spend chatting, and since it's almost noon, they decide to quickly put away Taeyong's luggage before going out to find somewhere to eat, and then to make good use of the afternoon. Taeyong had to wake up early for his plane, but it's nothing he can't handle for the day – he's mastered working in the dead of the night for his degree then acting as if he had a good rest. The fact that he can enjoy Tokyo with Doyoung is what brings him energy to stay awake.

They've already been in Tokyo together, a few years back. Taeyong remembers Doyoung's sparkling eyes and how eager he was to take it all in, the smell of the summer, the sound of the cicadas, the taste of the alluring snacks in the convenience stores. Taeyong has been there when Doyoung fell even more in love with what he's dreamt of for so many years. It was cute, and it's fond memories. They always remember their first trip, the two of them in Japan, with a big smile on their faces.

At that time, they've been to Starbucks once or twice, and Taeyong remembers the anticipation Doyoung has tried to hide. He didn't come back from Japan with his soulmate by his side, though. The trip was more about realizing a childhood dream than a quest for his soulmate, anyway.

They spend the afternoon in busy and colorful Harajuku, checking clothes boutiques and trendy food stores. They appreciate the mismatched and oddly aesthetic architecture of the residential borough when you continue after Takeshita Street, and Doyoung stops counting how many poses Taeyong takes for him to snap on his phone and feed their own Instagram accounts. It's funny and lighthearted and exactly what Doyoung needed.

Even after they have tried the ice creams shaped as cute animals – Taeyong has chosen the frog one with matcha flavor while Doyoung has opted for the vanilla bunny one – they still are in the mood for stopping at a convenience store and get drinks and pastries. Taeyong reconnects with his long distance relationship (aka: _melon pan_ ) and they make their way to Yoyogi Park to chill on the grass and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

Other groups of people are taking advantage of the sun, and tourists stroll through the park with their phones out to take pictures and keep memories of Tokyo. Doyoung and Taeyong look at them and hear so many different languages, that they can't help but begin to try to guess why they chose Japan as their holidays.

“It's funny, when we think of the reasons people go around the world and visit specific places,” Taeyong exhales, an arm as a pillow behind his head while lying down in the grass under the shadow of a tree. He takes a bite of his _melon pan_ and continues, “in my case, I came here because you're here, and you came here because your soulmate is here. We're following the important persons we have in our life!”

Doyoung winces. He knows Taeyong doesn't mean anything bad by that, just a fleeting thought said out loud, but it's actually a sensitive topic for Doyoung, one that he doesn't think he's talked about with his best friend, yet. It's not that he's afraid, or something. It just never came along in the conversation, and Doyoung was still trying to put better words on what he feels.

“It's for my studies that I came here,” he corrects.

It's not that his soulmate isn't _important_ , but the difference is huge to him.

Taeyong pauses his movement for a second, his _melon pan_ halfway from his mouth, and it's a bit comical but he has sensed that Doyoung's remark isn't trivial. However, he doesn't reply, and waits for Doyoung to continue and explain what he's thinking, what is worrying him. Taeyong nibbles at his snack and waits patiently.

Doyoung realizes that this is the time he finally voices his thoughts.

“I don't like when people think they understood me, saying the only reason I came in Japan was to go after my soulmate because it happens that my soulmark is written in Japanese. It's like, it diminishes the effort I put into learning Japanese, and also puts me in a position where I just didn't really think this through and only took this big decision for my soulmate. As if my own interests in the country and the culture aren't coming from me. It's like, I am only defined by this sentence on my wrist. I feel like I'm seen as superficial. I don't like Japan because of my soulmate. I happened to learn about it because I was curious of my soulmark, and I happened to fall in love with what Japan is. I love Tokyo because it's Tokyo, not because there are hundreds of Starbucks around where my soulmate could welcome me with their vibrant usual greeting.”

Doyoung is trying to prove himself that he's not defined by his soulmate.

“You don't have to prove anything to anyone, Doyoung,” Taeyong says gently, putting his fingers delicately on Doyoung's hand that is gripping at his own snack. “I'm sorry I didn't realize how it affected you, it was kinda dumb of me to say that, wasn't it?”

“It's alright, Tae, it's just me who's thinking too much.”

“If you're thinking that much, it's because it's important to you, you shouldn't blame yourself for that. It already feels like you need to always fight for people to recognize your choice of studying.”

Doyoung bites his lips, and remembers the little remarks of adults, schoolmates, old acquaintances, their little smile, as if Doyoung was still twelve and his only reason to want to go to Japan was to take a picture with Naruto and marry his foreign soulmate. Doyoung is an adult with interests, desires and plans for his career and his life, and it's somehow tiring that when people meet him and see his soulmark, they bring back everything to the fact that it's a sentence in Japanese.

It's also kinda insulting for his own soulmate. Even if he doesn't know them yet, they wouldn't want to be reduced to the only character trait of being from Japan, would they?

As much as he's happy the universe assigned him a soulmate, a person that has a really special link with him, sometimes Doyoung is puzzled in front of what it all implies, all the questions it raises in him.

A soulmark is like a tattoo inked in your skin, but it's not you who chose the design of it. You didn't ask for it, yet it's there. It has a meaning – the meaning of meeting your soulmate – but it truly becomes special with time, probably only when your soulmate says those first words out loud in front of you. It's not like Doyoung went to a tattoo parlor to get something that he finds so meaningful he wants to keep it forever on his skin. The tattoo is already there, and it is Doyoung's duty to make it significant.

“Is it why you still haven't gone to meet your soulmate yet?” Taeyong asks, once again with no judgement in his voice. Just a question to help Doyoung put words on what he feels, on what he fears, to help him take the step he needs. “It's not only about boycotting Starbucks, right?”

Doyoung wants to laugh a bit, because Taeyong is right, again.

“You know how it's like, everyone experiences the same things in their life, like their first kiss, their first hangover, love, job, heartbreak. Meeting their soulmate. And you know so many people experienced it already, and you can read about it everywhere, you can have so many points of view, yet it still seems so abstract to you, because you haven't experienced it yourself? I feel like... I feel like I'm still scared of meeting my soulmate, because I expect so much of it. It's someone I will meet at some point, that is waiting for me as much as I am waiting for them, but yet I know nothing about them. They are not only my soulmate, they are a person with interests and dislikes and dreams, you know? And then when we will meet I'll be in front of so many new information about them that I'll have to get familiar to. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just, a remark. I think I'm scared I actually know nothing about them yet I'm supposed to stay by their side. What if they actually don't like me, or that I don't like them? What if they are straight up asshole? And if it's a girl, how can I tell her that I am in fact gay, and will never see her romantically? Would it break her heart?”

Doyoung knows so much about Tokyo, he's learnt to live in it and makes it his haven, he's learnt to queue while waiting for the train, he's learnt on what days they collect plastic waste, he's learnt how to use a cash machine all in Japanese and he's learnt to avoid the cafeteria on campus at twelve fifteen because there are just too many students. It's quirks and habits thrown together repeating themselves. He knows them now.

Yet he knows nothing about his soulmate.

Tokyo is different from what he first thought, but it doesn't mean he doesn't like it now. And it can be the same for his soulmate, the differences between what he can only imagine and what they will truly be.

“And yet I'm really curious of meeting them.”

And the curiosity is becoming more and more present, nowadays.

“You know you can't control who they will happen to be. And maybe it's better not to stress over what you can't control.”

“You're right. It's dumb, but,” Doyoung chuckles a bit (dammit, how long has he been talking?), “there's also this fear of disappointment that I'll have to try so many times to finally meet my soulmate. There are so many Japanese employees and so many Starbucks around here. And maybe they are not even in Tokyo. I think it also holds me back a bit.”

“I don't think you need to hear what I have to say on this,” Taeyong smiles.

“Yeah, I should just... go for it and just try, because it's better than doing nothing.”

“Yup. I mean, there's nothing wrong with waiting because you want to get your thoughts organized. But since you said that you're curious, I think it's time to act on it and see where it could lead you.”

“Johnny is so much more courageous than me, with his _nice to meet you_ tattoo. There's no other way but trying, again and again, right?”

“We can be surprised and maybe it'll happen quickly! Imagine you meet your soulmate this week while I'm here? That would be so cool!”

“You'd be cool with third wheeling?” Doyoung laughs, and Taeyong whines and slaps his arm jokingly.

Doyoung feels lighter; it's so soothing, to be able to express himself to his best friend. He knows he could try to talk about it to Johnny or Jaehyun as well, but it doesn't feel the same.

“Will you buy a drink from them, though?” Taeyong wonders.

“I thought maybe I could just go in the store with you. I'll also accept Johnny's or Jaehyun's offer when they want to grab something there. I mean, I still have my values, but I need to find tricks too, right?”

When they are on their way to Doyoung's campus the next day for his second period class, Taeyong stops by the Starbucks inside the train station, that Doyoung ignores everyday in favor of his convenience store iced coffee – speaking of which, he already has in his slightly shaking hand. When they enter, they are greeted by a girl around their age, with the sentence that Doyoung reads everyday yet hears so little.

“Welcome to Starbucks! What would you like to order?”

Taeyong is the first to speak, trying to order an obnoxious special late spring drink that is composed of too many _katakana_ , and when the girl writes it down, she turns to Doyoung, who barely manages to let out:

“Nothing for me, thank you.”

It's, for a lack of better words, a really common and uninteresting answer, but it's also the first words that Doyoung ever said to this girl, and he can't help but scrutinizes her face to see if she's surprised at his response. However, her eyes don't brighten up, and she smiles before taking care of finishing Taeyong's order, who drops the right amount of coins in front of her. Still curious, Doyoung tries to catch the sentence on the girl's wrist while she's taking the payment, and he manages to catch some _kanji_ , but it's nothing close to what Doyoung's said.

Taeyong slurps at his drink when they go to the platform, tapoting Doyoung's shoulder.

“It's only the first try.”

Doyoung nods, a new buzzy feeling going through his veins.

東京

“Where the fuck is this entrance?” Doyoung mutters under his breath, a little bit annoyed.

It's a Saturday afternoon and Doyoung knows that Saturday afternoons in Shibuya are wild, even more since it's sunny and a lovely weather that has everyone going out to enjoy their free time. Doyoung understands because he does the same, but today the sea of people all around him is making it more annoying for him to manage what he wants to do.

It's ridiculous, in a sense. It's been ten minutes he exited the station and he's confused, even if he thought he knew the borough like his own house.

Arashi have released a few days ago a new single, and in memories of one of his favourite japanese groups, Doyoung has decided to buy the CD. Usually, he doesn't hesitate and directly goes to Tower Records – which is the way he's taken after he exited the station, before he remembered that today would be different. He has seen on social medias that another store is doing a special event in celebration of the new release, and sue Doyoung for succumbing to capitalism from time to time, but he's been attracted to the event, which is simply getting a random poster and picture of one of the members. He's done it before at Tower Records, and the little thrill and excitement to get something for free on top of your purchase is a little happiness that Doyoung allows himself.

However, the store that is holding the event is Tsutaya, and Doyoung is sure it's also a big store, but he's never put his foot in it so he's confused about the building, too – because sometimes in Shibuya there are several entrances to get to specific floors and Doyoung, surrounded by too many people it makes him too uncomfortable, has a hard time getting simple information, even more when he needs to go backward and change sidewalk.

It's even more ironic that the Tsutaya building is one right on Shibuya crossing, and it has a Starbucks, out of all things, where Doyoung knows people – especially tourists – love to go because they can have an overview of the strange and mesmerizing crowd walking the crossing when it's green. Obviously, Doyoung's never went there, and anyway, he knows a good standpoint to appreciate the same view, inside of the Shibuya station at the big bay windows.

And now Doyoung is finally in front of Tsutaya, but the flow of people coming in and out and around has him confused and dizzy, and he finally decides to push a door out of the few he sees, and he doesn't really think when he sees an escalator and takes it.

He realizes maybe he's mistaken the right way, because now he arrives on the first floor where he can see the bay windows and counter tables filled with people with a drink in one hand and their phone in another.

Before Doyoung can look for the way out, a voice coming from the barista counter greets him.

“Welcome to Starbucks! What would you like to order?”

Doyoung is a bit in a daze, confused, because he's still expecting to see stands displaying CDs, but all he sees is big menus filled with drink suggestions. He looks at the barista that is smiling at him, and, _oh, he's cute_ , and he mumbles dumbly at him, his mother tongue taking over:

“Damn, that for sure doesn't look like a music store.”

The barista, who until then smiled to him with his commercial smile – that, to be honest, is a really good one, if you ask Doyoung –, suddenly freezes, and his eyes widen, as if taken aback. Doyoung feels something like anticipation and butterflies in his stomach, and he's a bit confused why. Honestly, he can't stop looking at how the guy in front of him is so handsome, and how he sports two little black ponytails and several piercings at both his ears.

Then suddenly, the barista breaks in an even wider smile, and exclaims:

“You!”

“Me?” Doyoung replies like an idiot.

He knows he's weak in front of beautiful guys, but he needs to get back on track and reboot his own brain, dammit.

The barista doesn't wait and leaves behind the counter to properly be in front of Doyoung, which assures him a weird look from his colleagues, but he doesn't seem to care. Doyoung raises his hand to sheepishly scratch his neck, a nervous gesture. Up close, the barista is even more charming.

The movement has the barista's full attention, and Doyoung notices he's looking at the sentence on his wrist, and when he seems to have managed to read it, his smile is even bigger if that even possible. He rolls up the sleeve of his white work shirt – how is even that endearing? – and here it is, his own soulmark.

“Hello,” the guy says while Doyoung reads the sentence on his wrist, “I'm Nakamoto Yuta, your soulmate. What's your name?”

Doyoung finally understands the situation, and it's with a deep red blush on his face that he replies:

“Kim Doyoung.”

The smile that doesn't leave Yuta's handsome visage makes Yuta's eyes sparkle, and now that he's in front of his soulmate, Doyoung realizes that nothing seems as simple as that.

Two souls, finding their way through the distance, finally in front of each other, ready to take on this new journey together.

Doyoung is happy, and Yuta is, too.

ソウル

Yuta learns early that the sentence on his wrist is in Korean. It confuses him, because as a five-year-old, anything outside of his own house and the way to school is a weird concept, so he often asks if South Korea is far and if he can go there with his bike and his soccer ball, to play football with his soulmate because it's really fun.

The older son of the Korean family leaving in the same street as his, and who indulges Yuta's craving for soccer afternoons, translates his soulmark when curious little Yuta asks him. Yuta giggles when the elder says “damn”, because it's a bad word, and he feels a rush of adrenaline that he has such an illegal word printed on his skin; he feels like a bad boy.

_ Damn, that for sure doesn't look like a music store. _

Years pass and Yuta is less focused on his soulmark and more on his addiction for soccer. He spends his time between school and the soccer field with his best friend Yuto, and he's more excited to know about the next episode of One Piece than to know about his soulmate.

When his older sister and Yuto's older sister drag them both to a TVXQ concert held in Osaka, Yuta doesn't know that he'll be mesmerized by the singers on stage, the emotions of the crowd, the lights and the melody of Korean.

When they exit the venue, Yuta strokes the sentence on his skin, and he feels closer to his soulmate.

“I'll learn Korean for my soulmate,” he decides, and because Yuto is also fascinated, he follows him to Korean classes.

Years later, Yuto studies music in Seoul, and Yuta is captain of the soccer team of his university in Tokyo. He works at Starbucks to help for his student loans, and he dreams of going back to Seoul to visit Yuto once again and look out for his soulmate.

He wonders what kind of life his soulmate has. He wonders if they will like that Yuta prefers his hair long, and that he has a slight obsession with soccer. He hopes they will like him for who he is, and he also can't wait to learn more about their personality. What do they study? What are their dreams? What kind of music do they enjoy? How do they like their coffee?

And on a bright Saturday afternoon, while Yuta thought that his shift is boring, a slightly confused looking cute guy with black hair and bunny eyes, arrives in the coffee shop with the escalator. Yuta greets him, and even before the guy mumbles a reply, he has a feeling that his life is gonna change, for the better.

“Damn, that for sure doesn't look like a music store.”

Yuta is first shocked, and then euphoric.

He takes the few steps separating him from his soulmate, and it's like finally being at the place he's dreamt for so long.

_Alongside Kim Doyoung_ .

**Author's Note:**

> (nct dream fixed unit let's cry of relief together)
> 
> hope you liked it! if any term i used in this ff makes you confused, please don't hesitate to ask me and i'll gladly explain! (i miss tokyo terribly, is it obvious? lol)
> 
> also yes i did a blink and you'll miss it markhyuck hint
> 
> twt: [_renjunbaobei](https://twitter.com/_renjunbaobei) (come say hi)  
> [my curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/jeolmeoniji)
> 
> [here is a thread](https://twitter.com/jeolmeoniji/status/1250166934118772736) about little details/anecdotes on this ff and tokyo that i thought would be fun to share


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